NBA roundup: Pacers bolster frontline with Scola

The Indiana Pacers strengthened their frontcourt by acquiring Phoenix Suns power forward Luis Scola on Saturday.

The Pacers will send center Miles Plumlee, forward Gerald Green and a lottery-protected 2014 first-round pick to the Suns for the 33-year-old Scola.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Scola joins Roy Hibbert and David West on the Pacers frontline.

"I'm very, very excited to play for the Pacers," Scola said. "They are one of the top three teams in the NBA with a good shot to win a championship. I think it's a great team and this is a great opportunity. I can't wait."

Scola averaged 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season for the Suns. He has two years and $9 million left on his contract.

Before joining the Suns before this past season, Scola played five seasons with the Houston Rockets. He has career averages of 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

Plumlee, a 6-foot-11, 255-pound center was selected by the Pacers with the 26th pick in the first round of the2012 NBA Draft. He played in only 14 games last year with the Pacers.

Green is a six-year veteran, who was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 18th pick in 2005.

---The ball is in Chris Paul's court and the two-time Olympian has changed his mind and now is leaning toward playing in the 2016 Olympics.

The Los Angeles Clippers point guard was instrumental in leading gold-medal winning American squads in 2008 and 2012. He had seriously considered passing the torch to younger point guards like Derrick Rose and Kyrie Irving -- until Duke's Mike Krzyzewski announced he was returning to coach the team.

"If it had been another coach than Coach K, I was prepared to be done," Paul told ESPN.com.

---The Milwaukee Bucks are closing in on a deal with free agent shooting guard Gary Neal.

ESPN reports that a deal between the Bucks and Neal could be finalized soon. Neal's agent, David Bauman, is no longer negotiating with the Atlanta Hawks, who emerged with the Bucks as the top contenders to land Neal.

Neal became an unrestricted free agent when San Antonio withdrew its qualifying offer to Neal earlier this month. Undrafted out of Towson, he has averaged just under 10 points per game for his career. He averaged 9.5 points in 68 games last season.

Henderson and the Bobcats are closing in on a three-year, $18 million extension for the 25-year-old guard, who averaged 15.5 points on nearly 45 percent shooting this past season, Yahoo! Sports reported. The deal will be finalized over the weekend and the contract is expected to be signed early next week.

Henderson will hold a player option in the third year. He had an offer of about $7 million per season, but turned that down for the chance to test free agency a year earlier.

---The Los Angeles Lakers signed former Gonzaga forward Elias Harris, who impressed the team with his play at Summer League in Las Vegas.

Harris, who went undrafted in June, agreed to a two-year, minimum-salary contract, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In five games in Las Vegas, Harris averaged 10.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. The Lakers lost Earl Clark to Cleveland in free agency. The Lakers could see the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Harris as Clark's replacement.

Mozgov, 7-foot-1, 250 pounds, averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.9 minutes in 41 games for the Nuggets last season. In 130 career games, including 50 starts, with Denver and the New York Knicks, he has averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.1 minutes.

Originally signed by New York as an undrafted free agent in 2010, Mozgov joined the Nuggets as part of a three-team trade in 2011.